The present invention relates generally to a self-filling agricultural tender with an improved connection between the conveyor assembly and the tender bin.
Agricultural tender apparatuses are well known to the art to transport and load seed, grain, and fertilizer. Such apparatuses typically include a bin for storing seed, a conveyor assembly for moving the seed stored in the bin to another nearby location, such for loading into the hopper of a planter, and a frame to which the bin is mounted to keep the bin stable and upright, and to allow the apparatus to rest stably on the ground for use, to rest stably on a trailer, or to otherwise be stably used or transported to a point of use. In agricultural tenders known to the art, the bin is a storage compartment, typically with an open or openable top to allow top-loading, and typically has an openable aperture or gate at the bottom. The conveyor assembly is generally disposed beneath the bin and the bin generally includes a funnel or hopper feature that allows products in the bin to fall from the opened gate at the bottom of the bin onto the transport means of the conveyor assembly. The conveyor assembly further generally includes a discharge portion remote from the funnel or hopper for discharge of the product. The conveyor assembly is generally of sufficient length and mobility to allow delivery of a product such as seed, grain, or fertilizer, to separate top-loaded planters or other machines adjacent to the tender. The conveyor assembly commonly pivots or rotates in both horizontal and vertical planes with respect to the bin to allow top-filling of such other machines. It is known to the art to configure a conveyor assembly to include an elevator portion, such as, for example, by including an augur. The elevator portion of the conveyor assembly is further generally contained within a housing, in part to minimize spillage or loss of the seed, grain, or fertilizer.
It is also known to the art for the conveyor assembly to be configured to have sufficient, mobility to “self-fill” the tender bin by positioning the discharge portion of the conveyor assembly above the open top of the tender bin and to load seed, grain, or fertilizer into the conveyor assembly hopper while the conveyor assembly is activated. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,221,047 discloses a seed tender that includes a main hopper for holding seed and a conveyor for transferring seed to and from the main hopper, where the main hopper rests on a frame, the conveyor is supported by a support arm anchored to a portion of the frame, and both the outlet portion and the inlet portion of the conveyor can pivot to allow the conveyor discharge to be positioned above the storage compartment of the bin or to allow movement of the inlet portion from a point directly under storage compartment to a point not directly under the storage compartment.
One primary disadvantage of self-filling hoppers known to the art is that the conveyor must be configured to be supported on a support, arm coupled to the frame. This requires the frame to include a subframe portion dedicated to holding the support arm. The addition of a dedicated subframe adds cost and manufacturing complexity that can be avoided by the advantageous design disclosed herein. Further, self-filling tenders known to the art suffer problems with the ability to precisely position the conveyor assembly, and also suffer problems with reliability of operation. Versions of the present invention have the advantage of improved rotational precision of the conveyor assembly, and improved reliability, compared to apparatuses known to the art. Further, the subframe component, of designs known to the art have the disadvantage of being connected to the frame through rivets, bolts, welds, or other mechanical connections. Each such connection is a potential failure point. Versions of the present invention have the decided advantage of minimizing the number of potential failure points compared to self-filling tender apparatuses known to the prior art.